Serena Williams Is All of Us, Asks for Pregnancy Advice on Twitter

When I have trouble sleeping comfortably, I drink a glass of water, attempt to read a book, or fall back on the age-old trick of counting sheep. When Serena Williams has trouble sleeping comfortably, she asks the Twitterverse for advice—and her 8.84 million followers answer.

"Any tips on how to turn over at night?" Williams wrote in a recent tweet. "I'm having trouble from going from my left to my right to my left side." The message garnered 1,200 responses—many of which were genuinely helpful.

Some Twitter users recognized the issue themselves, and their advice was pretty solid.

Williams isn't the only expectant mother to have this dilemma. Many pregnant women struggle to get comfortable and fall asleep at night for a number of reasons—including back pain, heartburn, shortness of breath, and insomnia, according to the American Pregnancy Association (APA). And this goes without saying, but a woman's body also undergoes major physiological changes, which can obviously make it harder to sleep in certain positions.

Like many of Williams' Twitter followers, the APA recommends that expectant mothers sleep on their side during pregnancy—and if possible, the left side. "Sleeping on your left side will increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and your baby," the APA says. The APA—again, like many of Williams' fans—also recommends keeping your legs and knees bent and putting a pillow between them.

Looks like Williams is onto something—maybe the next time I'm having trouble sleeping, I'll tweet to my followers and see if they can help me. (Who am I kidding? I'm stuck with my glass of water and counting-sheep tricks until I amass a following akin to Williams'.)